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#especially the art and post production departments
lu-lus-duckies · 17 days
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Idk what to call this so you make up the title
@huskers-bar x @nunalastor
Tags: enemies to lovers, angst?, eventual fluff, yearning?, soft huskers-bar, both mods are separate people, no beta we die like i do in this fic (not yet though), minor character death, ooc, au: hellaverse (hazbin hotel), nunalastor is head of the marketing department of the hazbin hotel (lucifer grabbed them randomly), jealousy?, huskers-bar is an employee at voxtek, lulu and angie as villains, lulu is a dog
chapter: 1/? Word count: 1,431
Featuring: babygirl anon and (eventually) @xxx-angie . I may add more along the way depending on who wants to be added. I can probably shoe-horn-in a few more characters
For the sake of not tagging people a million times, I will call nunalastor as a single entity nunalastor, traumatized mod dickmaster and cursed mod nun. and huskers-bar just husk. babygirl anon will be babygirl anon. i will be shortened to lulu but I don't appear in this fic yet. Angie doesn't appear yet, but he will be angie.
A/N: anyway this is 100% going to be a huskers-bar harem fic because i can write whatever i want. This first chapter kinda boring but it gets better (source: trust me bro). Lemme know if you'd like to see any changes. Anyway, goodbye for now. I have uni to get to so less frequent posting (sorry dickmaster, you'll have to live without any of my horrid art for a little while)
"Did you know that Alastor made a happy deer squeak during this scene?"
Ah, yes, the words that twist people's dreams into nightmares. Innocent innitially, and maybe even amusing for a good while, but the longer one lingered, the more their skin would crawl with irritation and burn their insides. Especially when one knew the context surrounding this particular phrase. And boy, did Nunalastor know the context.
~
"Another day, another inbox to slay, another heavenly lord to betray" Dickmaster accessed their and Nun's shared blog, unsurprisingly to hundreds if not thousands of asks invading their inbox, all of which were echoes of different variations of *thumps* and *squeaks*. If Nunalastor hadn't already grown accustomed to such deviancy, they would be horrified. Still, the depraved ideas these people came up with never failed to send shivers down their spine, and not the pleasant kind.
And why do they subject themselves to this? you may ask. It was simple. In exchange for free housing, food and supplies, Lucifer Morningstar, the devil himself and father of Charlie Morningstar had requested their help. You see, originally their blog was not this unfortunate cesspool of deranged demons who wanted to see the devil, overlords and sinners squirm under immense sexual pleasure. It used to be a simple marketing tool for the Hazbin hotel, but as all things in hell, it never goes smoothly. It wasn't like they had a choice in the matter anyway, refusing the king of hell's requests was not an option! His commands were absolute.
Dickmaster took one deep breath, running both hands through their hair and clearing their mind, preparing for probably several hours of torture that was going to be their asks. They poured themselves a drink, setting down in front of their screen. Taking a few moments to relish the silence, they closed their eyes and listened to the soft hum of their beaten up 1950's style computer, courtesy of Alastor's ban on Voxtek products at the hotel. Clicking on their inbox tab, they mentally braced themselves. even if they knew, they could never truly predict the horrors hell had to offer.
"time for #housekeeping" They declared, stretching their fingers, getting their reaction images on the ready and sifting through their own version of digital hell. It would only get worse from here.
~
As Nunalastor started to clean their digital home, erasing one cursed ask after another, responding to one alastor circus theory after another, One ask in particular caught their attention. It was definitely a surprise, and a welcome one at that. It stood out like a sore thumb, simple yet elegant, divine and a blessing among heaps of cursed messages that would have asmodeus and satan themselves shaking in fear.
"hi dickmaster" - anon
Nunalastor couldn't explain it. They don't know what came over them, but they felt a strange sense of attraction to this one particular anon. They were sweet, they gave them a place of solace from the dread that was piss kink headcanons and cursed deer facts, equivelent of the clogged up plumming disasters alastor had to fix with his bare hands at the Hazbin hotel. It was the piece of gold nugget hidden in a swamp full of moss and dog urine.
Dickmaster stared at the message for a good few seconds, really taking in the plainness and beauty of the two words before their eyes, appriciating all that message was as a small smile made its way up their face. This called for a special occasion. Dickmaster gripped their keyboard, nearly smashing it with the force. Their fingers danced along the keys and crafted a response like no other, one worthy of this random anon that managed to make their day a bit brighter.
"Hi babygirl" - Nunalastor
~
On the other side of the pentagram, a kind, sweet and not at all deranged huskers was scrolling through hells version of tumblr. Voxtek devices had proven to be quite useful in the underworld. It served as the main source of entertainment and escape for the lonely, not only for husk, but other sinners alike. Besides, being an employee meant he had extra privileges with Voxtek. Regardless, it introduced husk to the nunalastor blog, which was the best moment of their life (or lack thereof, considering they're dead).
They'd quickly grown accustomed to the undeserved hate thrown their way upon their first ever interractioin. Though they didn't understand, they could play along. They found strange comfort in the twisted logic that any form of attention was better than none. After all, being singled out meant they were special in the eyes of Nunalastor, right? that's how husk comforted themselves anyway. And they haven't seen Nunalastor actually reply to anyone with actual love before.
That is... until it happened. Someone who would later reveal themselves as babygirl anon, husks worst adversary and the unfortunate victim of lulu's slander showed up on their feed.
"hi dickmaster" - anon
"Hi babygirl" - Nunalastor
Husk stared at the screen in shock, their eyes widening and heart growing heavy. Countless questions and conflicting emotions swirled within them, each clutching their hold for attention. 'Is nunalastor serious? Do I not want them to be serious? Why can't I be treated the same? What did I do?' And amidst the chaos, one thought rose to the surface, crystal clear in Husk's mind.
'I want to be loved like that'
The frustration of being at the end of every one of Nunalastors verbal spears finally caught up to husk. Every small jab they'd written off as jokes suddenly felt like small pin needles scraping their skin. Unable to deal with the whirlwind of emotions and the confusion of it all, Husk sought solace in the one place they could always trust, the bottom of a bottle.
So they took a swig. And another. And another. Intil there wasn't a shred of emotion left to feel. Not a single thread of frustration left in them, not a nerve of anguish, not a line of confusing verbal spewage...
And not even a speck of self-restraint
~
"THEY JUST KEEP COMING" Dickmaster exclaimed, more like yelled as their inbox was flooded with more cursed asks at a rate faster than they could answer. At this pace, they'll be there all day, answering these asks like a poor overworked minimum wage employee at a call center.
"They'll run out of ideas eventually" Nun responded, nonchalantly, leaning against a nearby wall, sipping on a drink of their own. Nun watched as dickmaster struggled to find another reaction image fast enough so they could call it quits and leave the rest of the struggles for future Nunalastor to handle, or more accurately when it would be nun's turn to answer all the unhinged people in their inbox.
The hurried clicking of the keys on a keyboard could be heard throughout the entire room, bouncing off the walls, reflecting exactly how much infestation was actually happening in nunalastors inbox by the minute. "it would be great if you could answer a few you know, my fingers are dyin-"
And then it suddenly went quiet. The clicking died down and the unbelievably loud buzzing of their computer, along with the hitched breathing of Dickmaster was the only sound bouncing around the room. Nun of course raised a brow at this. "what's the holdup? we can't afford to take a break you know" they said, as if they were the one answering all of the asks in the first place.
nun walked over, curious as to what exactly had stopped dickmaster in his endless pursuit of emptying their inbox, considering they were always the more enthusiastic one of the two. "are you okay?" nun asked, half sarcastically. Their eyes landed over the current ask in their inbox.
"I wish you'd love me" huskers-bar
and suddenly the silence made sense. the pause had been a justified one.
dickmaster inhaled, followed by a deep and saddened exhale. they didn't want to take their eyes off of those five words. they could stare in awe and amazement at them for hours. it wasn't even the fact that it was just another ask that wasn't cursed, but because it was huskers-bar that sent-
a hand on dickmasters shoulder snaps them out of their daze, being brought back to reality, the pitiful reality. they were in hell for a reason, they reminded themselves.
"you remember our deal, don't you, dickmaster?" nuns voice cut through the buzzing, sounding deep, gruff, threatening and slightly saddened.
"yes of course" dickmaster turned back to the monitor, giving one last look at the ask before typing out what nunalastor has agreed would be the appropriate response.
"you'll get over it. #we are a huskers-bar hate blog"
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killuagirly · 2 months
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♡Kuroshitsuji//Black Butler Masterlist♡
➝Don't forget to check the requesting rules in the Intro Post before requesting!
➝Updated frequently, thanks for reading!!
➝More characters, arcs and more will be added as I go.
➝I haven't finished the Kuroshitsuji manga yet, so my apologizes if I can't take requests for certain characters.
═════════ ♡ ═════════
Requestable so far: Ciel Phantomhive, Sebastian Michaelis, Elizabeth Midford, Baldroy, Mey-Rin, Finnian, Snake, Joker, Beast//Mally, Dagger, Doll, Wendy, Peter, Jumbo, Alois Trancy, Claude Faustus.
What might be to come: Hannah Annafellows, Timber, Thompson, Canterbury.
Phantomhive Household[Separate] x F[?]Reader
It's Valentine's Day!~ Your favorite characters' time to shine when confessing their love for you. How might they go about it?
Ciel, Joker, Dagger[Separate] x F!Reader
What does your dearest lover think in the scenario where you have no eyesight, yet manage your way around naturally?
Ciel, Finnian, Alois, Joker & Dagger x F!Reader
How would your boyfriend react in the situation of finding you fast asleep over a book, your glasses hanging slightly off your face after searching for you?
Snake x F!Reader
You arrive as a new addition to the Phantomhive staff shortly after Snake, bringing your productive habits and sweetness with you. Everyone at the manor is grateful for your presence, especially a certain scaley boy falling harder for you by the day.
Ciel, Alois, Joker & Dagger[Separate] x Reader
In a universe where you are bound to one another by some circumstance, what might your soulmate think upon your first meeting?
Ciel & Joker[Separate] x Reader
After gaining the knowledge that you, their lover, runs an orphanage, they decide to go for a visit and see for themselves.
Finnian x F!Reader
What's it like when our beloved strawberry blonde Finnian, goes on a case with his younger master and ends up meeting a girl who's been through the same things as him along the way?
Ciel, Sebastian & Alois[Separate] x Reader
As a part of a modern-day 'time traveler organization', you had gotten yourself the opportunity to meet Ciel, Alois, and Sebastian in person. What will you do with this once-in-a-lifetime chance?
Yandere!Noah's Ark Circus[Separate] x Reader
Noah's Ark Circus members[Separate] seem to have a thing for you, but it only gets worse as you don't notice their obvious attempts to court you. What might they do in return?
Noah's Ark Circus Boys[Separate] x F!Reader
Our lovely boys with you, - their girlfriend - who is skilled in the arts and crafts department. What would they think about your artistic talents?
Joker, Dagger, & Snake[Separate] x F!Reader
What would your protective beloved do in a situation where someone dares to say something uncalled for toward you?
Yandere Peter x F!Reader
Whilst you were eating dinner in the mess tent, Peter notices another performer staring your way with a love-struck look. You were meant for his eyes only, and anyone else was considered in the way.
═════════ ♡ ═════════
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mariacallous · 3 months
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If U.S. President Joe Biden wants to check the pulse of the arsenal of democracy, all he has to do is look at Bill LaPlante’s wall in the Pentagon. The U.S. Defense Department industrial chief’s office is covered with production charts for every weapon that the United States is building to fend off a potential war with China while helping countries such as Ukraine and Israel fend for themselves in wars of their own.
It’s like an electrocardiogram of the U.S. defense industry: There’s a line going up to count the number of units moved and a line going sideways for the time that it took to move them. There are production rates for the Patriot missiles that the United States has sent to the Middle East to provide backup for Israel, the sea-launched Standard Missile-6 that the United States has deployed to the Indo-Pacific to potentially bloody China’s nose if it launches an assault on Taiwan, and the guided multiple launch rockets—known as GMLRs—that helped the Ukrainians liberate Kherson and the areas around Kharkiv in a one-two punch to the Russian army in 2022. “It’s a whole stair step,” LaPlante told a small gaggle of reporters at the Reagan National Defense Forum in California in early December 2023. The chart, he said, “keeps going and going.” And even though business is booming, Defense Department officials are facing a problem from hell. How can the Pentagon mobilize the U.S. defense industry to respond to not just one conflict or two, but potentially three wars? Foreign Policy talked to a dozen defense ministers, officials, and experts across the NATO alliance. They described an almost Sisyphean task to rebuild the trans-Atlantic—and trans-Pacific—defense industrial base to fight three wars not during a world war, but when much of the Western world is at peace. “We are moving from a just-in-time, just-enough economy model to a peak demand model,” said Dutch Adm. Rob Bauer, the chairman of NATO’s military committee, in an interview in his office at the alliance’s Brussels headquarters in October. Much like the manner in which the Western world had to convert factories at dizzying speed to produce protective medical equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic, Western leaders need to “make sure everybody understands the sense of urgency of where we are,” Bauer said. Officials are still trying to figure out what the right number is for every weapon on LaPlante’s chart. What makes planning especially difficult is the friction of war. Nobody expected the war in Ukraine to suck up thousands of artillery shells every single day, year after year. Few thought that Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip would exhaust precision-guided munitions in a couple of months. If the United States were in a war with China over the Taiwan Strait, it could run out of long-range precision munitions within a week, according to one study.
There was a time when the United States could turn plowshares into swords; in the Second World War, the United States built more of pretty much everything than any other combatant, from tanks to planes to ships to landing craft. Then-President Franklin D. Roosevelt called it the “arsenal of democracy” because it was. In five years, U.S. factories built 141 aircraft carriers, 88,410 self-propelled guns and tanks, and 257,000 artillery guns. 
Now, Washington is trying to get back in business after three decades of post-Cold War belt-tightening that saw companies merge and production lines slow down. LaPlante said that the Pentagon has built a facility in Texas that has the capacity to surge 155 mm artillery shells as needed. Boeing is growing its capacity to build sensors for Patriot missiles at its Huntsville, Alabama, facility by nearly a third. In Europe, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic are becoming major producers of ammunition. Germany is buying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of artillery shells while Rheinmetall sets up shop inside Ukraine. Sweden, Denmark, and Norway have begun jointly procuring 155 mm barrels for Ukraine. And the Swedish manufacturer Saab—which no longer makes cars—is producing so many diesel-electric submarine hulls that it’s even looking at Southeast Asia as potential clients. Building industrial muscle means that the Pentagon needs to rebuild long-atrophied bureaucratic muscle, too. LaPlante has deputized a so-called “joint production cell” within the Pentagon, comprising defense officials who are visiting production floors. It’s not just a question of getting scientists and dollars, but also of getting factories full of skilled welders, assemblers, and foremen. “It’s dusting off a lot of skills that we’ve had in this country that we haven’t used in a while,” LaPlante said. 
But there’s a bigger problem, too: It’s one thing to assemble shells and missiles, and another thing altogether to assemble higher-end gear such as the B-21 Raider stealth bomber, which runs at about $750 million per airplane, with a production line that snakes across three U.S. states. Building the aircraft is so complex that U.S. officials have compared it to the nearly four-decadeslong process of building the interstate highway system.
Some of the weapons still have to be funded. Congress has already agreed to fund SM-6 and GMLRS. Other projects, such as the Pentagon’s plan to get up to 100,000 rounds of 155 mm artillery produced by 2025, need Congress to pass the supplemental budget, LaPlante said. With Congress out for the holidays, that’s on hold until at least January. And across the Atlantic, the European Union has fallen far behind its target of producing 1 million artillery rounds per year to feed Ukraine’s voracious appetite for ammunition while replenishing NATO stockpiles. 
But when LaPlante and other Pentagon officials go into meetings with industry and members of Congress to tout their plans, they face two big questions about the United States’ military-industrial buildup. Are they going to pull the plug, especially as Congress wavers on additional U.S. military aid to Ukraine, Taiwan, and Israel? And even if they’re for real, are their plans even enough? 
When it comes to putting shells in barrels, since December 2022, the U.S. industrial base has doubled its output of 155 mm ammunition, growing it from 14,000 rounds per month to between 28,000 to 30,000, LaPlante said. U.S. Army officials hope to get to 60,000 rounds per month by September 2024, and to the magic number of 100,000 rounds per month by the end of 2025. 
The Pentagon has put about $3 billion toward the ramp-up so far, the price of about four B-21 bombers, sprinkling contracts across five U.S. states and three countries. 
The European Union is producing between 600,000 and 700,000 artillery shells per year, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur told reporters in November, well short of the 27-nation bloc’s 1 million shell goal, which it hopes to reach next year. To support Ukraine and recapitalize its own stockpiles, Europe will have to reach about 3 million rounds per year in the next 10 years, Pevkur said. 
But Ukraine’s appetite for artillery ammo is voracious, about 6,000 shells per day at the peak of fighting this year— and the shortage of U.S. military aid is already causing troops to hold their fire on the front lines. The pain of growing the arsenal is hard, Western officials concede, but the pain of losing the war would be far worse. 
“There is no option but to rise to the occasion in this regard,” Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson said in an interview with Foreign Policy.
And when it comes to so-called smart bombs—weapons with GPS guidance kits built in—the situation is even more dire. Despite the United States allowing Israel to raid precision munition stockpiles in the region, more than half of the air-to-ground weapons fired into the Gaza Strip since October have been unguided “dumb bombs,” according to U.S. intelligence reports. 
All of that is without accounting for the weapons needed to fight the next war: ships, submarines, sea-based missiles, and coastal defenses. China has done everything short of invading Taiwan, though it has vowed to do so at some point soon. In a naval fight, shipyards count as much or more than hulls in the water, and there the United States is beached. Even when it comes to what the United States is really good at—building and operating high-end nuclear submarines—they are artisanal affairs. The rest of the U.S. Navy is shrinking while China’s is growing. “We’re spending 3.3 percent of GDP on national defense and you’re building a paltry 1.2 subs” a year, said U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker, the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee. “I don’t think that is making [Chinese President] Xi Jinping quake in his boots.”
The United States has to outsource its defense procurement, as do most countries—which, in the long hangover of the post-Cold War era, means a very rude awakening. Some NATO countries, such as Poland, which keeps more of its defense industry in state hands than most other member countries, can expand production lines on the back of public spending. 
The United States can only prod and pray—the Pentagon’s own soon-to-be-released industrial strategy indicates that defense companies wouldn’t be able to respond fast enough for the U.S. military to fight a modern war.
For instance: The biggest bottleneck in sending GMLRS and 155 mm ammo to Ukraine is the lack of rocket motors, said Heidi Shyu, who oversees the Pentagon’s technology strategy. So the U.S. Defense Department has initiated a parallel effort to make sure that rocket motors get built, too. But it’s a slog.
“Ramping up production is not like a light switch, where you can flip the switch and bang, you can tenfold your production,” Shyu said. “You just can’t do that. Every country that has the ability to ramp up production is in the process of ramping up.” 
Further down the food chain, the U.S. Defense Department is running into problems; there aren’t enough testing beds for new weapons systems, for example. There aren’t enough good programmers to write good code. And there aren’t enough little things that go boom up and down the U.S. supply chain to feed all of the Ukrainian gun barrels, let alone those of other allies.
Europe is feeling the same crunch. 
“What are the smaller obstacles? First, fuses. Second, gunpowder. Third, shells.” said Pevkur, Estonia’s defense minister. “You have to be able to solve all of these small details in order to be ready to produce more rounds.” U.S. partners are getting creative, given the lack of backup. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has announced a 1-million-drone target to build one-hit kamikazes that can strike Russian troops deep behind their lines. They’re conducting do-it-yourself air defense with obsolete Soviet-era munitions. And Taiwan, still stuck in a billion-dollar backlog of U.S. weapons sales, has started doing F-16 maintenance on its own. 
But none of that is going to restore the arsenal of democracy, whose shelves—already bereft, if not barren—aren’t getting restocked like they used to. 
“There is an end to every stockpile,” Bauer said. “There’s an end to it.”
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cantsayidont · 5 months
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July and August 1979. The unusual transatlantic production schedule of the original Marvel STAR WARS comic, which for a time was published in the U.S. in 36-page monthly color comics and in eight-page weekly installments in the B&W UK series, led for a while to the use of two different inkers for regular penciller Carmine Infantino: Bob Wiacek, who did the cover of issue #25, and Canadian artist Gene Day. Generally, Wiacek and Day inked the stories in alternating issues of the color series, although Wiacek's inks might appear on several consecutive covers. They each gave Infantino's pencils a distinctly different look. Here's a page from issue #25, inked by Day:
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If I had to choose just one word to characterize the work of Gene Day, who died suddenly in 1982 at the age of 31, it would be "intricate." Whether doing inks/finishes or both pencils and inks, his art was characterized by an abundance of textures and small details, many of them seemingly rendered with a pen. Note for example in the second panel above the shading on Baron Tagge's face and the linework of the structure behind him, and the grille structure of the ceiling in the third panel.
A side note worth mentioning here, not related to the inking, is the use of color. Original colorist Ben Sean uses the two-color treatment of the hyperspace shot to segue into three panels with a minimal color palette, which I think is supposed to represent the limitations of Tagge's cyber-vision (without which, as the final panel indicates, he is blind). The digital recoloring has mostly followed Sean's original colors, but they're brighter and more saturated than they appeared on newsprint paper, and for some reason, the recolored version of the second panel has substituted a solid orange fill for the original yellow-orange gradient, as seen below:
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The following is a page from the subsequent issue, #26, this time inked by Bob Wiacek:
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Note that the line weight of Wiacek's inks is different than Day's, and more of the inking appears to have been done with a brush than a pen. There's still some pen shading (note for example the bottoms of Tagge's boots in the final panel), but much less than in Day's pages, and minor details, especially in the backgrounds, feel a bit sketchier. Consequently, Wiacek's figures have a greater sense of solidity than Day's, but their environments are often less sharply defined. (This isn't necessarily bad — from a storytelling standpoint, it may be better not to get lost in the weeds with extraneous background detail — but it does look different.) Note also the Zipatone texture fill in the second panel. Day uses Zipatone as well, but more sparingly and often in smaller areas, where it's often overshadowed by the detail of his line work.
With the release of THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK in 1980, the UK series was relaunched as a monthly, simplifying production logistics. Infantino did not pencil the film adaptation, but he did the first four post-ESB issues, each with a different inker (Day and Chic Stone, then Tom Palmer, then Day, and finally Carlos Garzón), which led to even more dramatic differences in the look of the finished art. Infantino, who by his own account had no particular enthusiasm for the series, then departed. Gene Day, meanwhile, was doing some extraordinary work on Marvel's MASTER OF KUNG FU series, initially finishing Mike Zeck's pencils and then doing both pencils and inks, which really showed off his enthusiasm for intricate design.
Prior to his death, Day did layouts for two complete issues of STAR WARS, which appeared in #68 and #69 after his death, finished by Tom Palmer. Although they don't have the complex linework of the work Day finished himself, they have a really striking sense of design that make them arguably the most interesting-looking issues in the original Marvel series.
Incidentally, Dan Day and David Day, who did (inter alia) the Renegade Press CASES OF SHERLOCK HOLMES series, are Gene Day's brothers.
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melonteee · 5 months
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I think you are disregarding some elements in a series budget. Let’s break it down the amount of stuff they need to think about budget wise:
Above the Line costs:
Respective rates of writers, producers, director, and main cast,
Cost of script development and rewrites
There are expenses like airfare, accommodation, transportation, food, equipment, and etc only for the main cast, writers, directors etc.
Below the line costs:
Different Crew and extra casts wages; their expenses are very different in terms of rates like accommodation, transportation, catering, travel, hotel stay
Choreographing, rehearsing, and planning stunts, make sure the actors are all right
The casting department have different wages
Concept art and location scouting costs money too
Rental location fees
There is Production design costs, set building costs, props development, prosthetics (there were a lot of fish men), live set and studio costs, costumes, catering (food and drinks etc.), etc.
Post-production costs like editing
Insurance for all sort of stuff
Location and equipment permits, vehicles, transportation, equipment rentals, and wire work
CGI work, depending largely on the amount of work (the building in arlong park is cgi and not real)
Sound design, music licensing, music budget; people really underestimate how much money is put on the music
Then there’s marketing costs
You realise how insane this all sounds when they were literally making the live action DURING the time of writers, actors AND CGI workers not getting a fair pay - ie, before the strike. I'm sorry but saying they didn't have enough 'money' in terms of being unable to bring certain properties and characters to life is just a straight up lie, especially if you're going all in on a live action from a multi MILLION dollar company such as Netflix that has no doubt made their money back tenfold.
I'm very well aware how much money goes into this stuff, but again, apparently this is THE highest paid tv show PER episode to date since Game of Thrones. And if not even THAT can bring all the elements of One Piece to life, then my point stands. If you're having extreme issues making a live action with the medium, to the point you have to exclude important characters, then perhaps (for artistic purposes) a live action should not be adapted in the first place? Especially when a cheaper made anime with a MUCH cheaper budget CAN include everything lmao.
Maybe because One Piece is made for and much better suited to its animation medium but! Perhaps that's just me.
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kerink · 1 year
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god i have more to say on the joyous congregation's cryogenics department but i don't want to make that post on my phone -_-
basically, in 19B kevin said NVCR was old and outdated tech-wise, in the patreon eps he says his equipment is not only state of the art but especially invented just for him, AND theres a 10 year time dilation between the DOW and night vale
meaning that when the quality cryogenics corp said they were "from the future" that's likely far less far out time-wise than people assume. desert bluffs tech was always more advanced than night vale's and they have a x10 fast forward advantage
meaning that it's entirely possible kevin himself orchestrated the attack as revenge against carlos choosing cecil in 70A
the time delay between 70A and 156 was 3 years for carlos and cecil, 30 for kevin, giving kevin plenty of time to grieve, recover, and plan a new attack against night vale
the quality cryogenics corp also specifically targeted cecil's fear of death, launching their attack right when time started to work again for him and (as far as we know) threatened his immortality. however, carlos was skeptical about using the services despite cecil immediately wanting to join the program
i can see a world where kevin would want cecil's brain scooped out, put in a robot, and forced to work for him, and in kevin's mind carlos only left desert bluffs too for cecil, so without cecil he'd come home. and that would be a win-win for kevin, he would have gotten cecil nice and agreeable and willing to work with him and double their productivity (something he's wanted since 19B) AND he can have the life he wanted with carlos
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shewholovestoread · 5 months
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My Journey To You - Thoughts and Impressions Part 1 of 2
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I realise that I've been missing these past few months, i've been on a consumption binge but with little to no bandwidth to write about any show/film irrespective of how much I may have loved them. (depression is an ass) But I can, once again, feel thoughts tingling in my brain and I've decided to get back to writing, something that I deeply enjoy. Anyway, enough about me, let's get started.
To keep the post from getting obscenely long, I'm going to split it into two. This post will be about the technical aspects of the show. Part 2 will focus on the characters.
My Journey To You is a 2023 fantasy, Wuxia show (shows/films that are based in ancient China with martial arts warriors being capable of superhuman feats, like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon). It was highly anticipated owing to the amazing trailer (one of the best I've seen)
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Plot: The series tells the story of Yun Wei Shan, a spy longing for freedom, who infiltrates the Gong residence to complete a mission. In the eerie and treacherous Gong residence, she encounters love and friendship, embarks on a journey of self-discovery, and finds the determination to move forward. Together with the rebellious nobleman Gong Zi Yu, they grow and mature through their shared experiences. (via mydramalist)
It stars: Yu Shu Xin (Yun Wei Shan), Zhang Ling He(Gong Zi Yu), Ryan Cheng (Gong Shang Jue) and Lu Yu Xiao (Shangguan Qian), Tian Jia Rui (Gong Yuan Zhi), Jolin Jin (Gong Zi Shang) and Sun Chen Jun (Jin Fan)
Written by: Edward Guo.
Series directed by: Edward Guo & Luo Luo
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I'll talk about everything I liked before I get into the stuff that I didn't.
Right off the bat, this show has some of the most gorgeous characters you'll come across and this applies to both the men and the women. The costume and make-up departments do an amazing job making already attractive people look ridiculously attractive. They also help the actors really inhabit the world seamlessly. The costumes are especially incredibly detailed and intricate, you can see the care that went into crafting the look for each of these characters. Shout-out to Huang Wei (costume designer) and Shi Hui (Make-up)
One of the best aspects of the show is the cinematography by Wei Hong. This show is aesthetically beautiful, so many absolutely stunning shots. Chinese shows (and Korean shows) love slow-motion shots, and while at times, it can be a bit much, this show makes great use of them, especially during the fight scenes.
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The cinematography is helped to a great extent by the excellent production design, courtesy Jiyao Zhang. Like the costumes, the production design too is detailed and intricate. The world feels fully realised and yet also lived in. Each of the different clan mansions, the Front Hill and Back Hill are so incredibly different and distinct that you can immediately tell where you are. An insane amount of hard work went into the show and it shows in every frame.
You can tell that they had a good budget to work with and every bit of it was spent on making the show look as stylized as possible, there is not an ounce of realism to be found here, cue slow-motion beautiful hair flying shots. (Every day I bemoan my inability to make gifs) But the screencaps below illustrate the beauty of the show, it's so gorgeous that you could literally use screencaps as wallpapers.
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The fight scenes in the show are some of the best I've seen. They are intense and thrilling and always coherent, you can always tell who's fighting who. The fight scenes are also so aesthetically pleasing, like an exceptionally deadly dance.
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Now, we come to the not-so-great stuff.
First off, the marketing. The show was marketed and advertised as an action fantasy show and while there is action and it is excellent, it's not an "action" show. The main focus of the show is on the characters and the internal power struggle of the Gong family. There are also whole scenes, sometimes making up the bulk of an entire episode which are just conversations. I've seen a lot of viewers disappointed and it makes sense. they thought they were coming for action and instead they got verbose conversations.
The pacing also comes to a near-halt in some of these scenes and instead we're treated to lengthy expositions which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it becomes tedious when it happens repetitively.
Now, let's come to the worst thing about the show, it's ending, specifically the last 5 minutes. This end is ridiculously mindbogglingly bad when you consider that there is almost no confirmation on a 2nd season. It's just such a bad idea to end on a cliffhanger like this. If they wanted to leave things open for a potential 2nd season, they could have ended with the Wufeng elders coming together at that character's home, possibly to hold them ransom or something, like literally anything else.
if you're planning on watching this show and I do recommend it, keep in mind that it does get slow and don't watch the last 5 mins of the show. Trust me, you'll like the show a whole lot more if you follow that approach.
Part 2 HERE
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365days365movies · 1 year
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31 (Films) to Life: End of Year Round-Up I
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Well, here we are: the start of another year of movies!
Geez, 2022 was interesting. Changed up the format from doing daily films and monthly genres, and focused mostly on films in one genre: crime. Aimed for 31 films, and out of that goal hit...24. Which, honestly, not too shabby. Didn't get as many reviews out as intended, but that is honestly OK. Was a busy-as-hell year for me, so I'm pretty well satisfied.
So, what did I see last year, exactly? Well, this post is about to be a round-up, which includes the films I wrote about, and the ones I didn't get the chance to. And at the end, I'll get into my plans for 2023. So, before I hit the "Keep Reading" button, here's the full list of crime films I saw in 2022.
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M (1931); directed by Fritz Lang
The Maltese Falcon (1941); directed by John Huston
The Third Man (1949); directed by Carol Reed
Rashomon (1950); directed by Akira Kurosawa
The Killing (1956); directed by Stanley Kubrick
Cool Hand Luke (1967); directed by Stuart Rosenberg
The Italian Job (1969); directed by Peter Collinson
The Godfather (1972); directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Chinatown (1974); directed by Roman Polanski)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975); directed by Sidney Lumet
Taxi Driver (1976); directed by Martin Scorcese
Scarface (1983); directed by Brian de Palma
Once Upon a Time in America (1984); directed by Martin Scorcese
Thelma and Louise (1991); directed by Ridley Scott
Reservoir Dogs (1992); directed by Quentin Tarantino
Casino (1995); directed by Martin Scorcese
Heat (1995); directed by Michael Mann
The Usual Suspects (1995); directed by Bryan Singer
L.A. Confidential (1997); directed by Curtis Hanson
American Psycho (2000); directed by Mary Harron
Catch Me if You Can (2002); directed by Stephen Spielberg
Monster (2003); directed by Patty Jenkins
The Departed (2006); directed by Martin Scorcese
Zodiac (2007); directed by David Fincher
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And there you have it! Now, this upcoming short set of summaries (behind the Keep Reading wall) may be a little too long for one post, so we'll split it up a little bit. But in any case, let's get this started!
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M (1931), dir. Fritz Lang - 92%
This one, you can check out my full recap and essay about if you're curious, but here's the summary: I loved this movie. Lorre's brilliant as the titular killer, the simple story is well-constructed and effective, the ending is beautiful, and the film as a whole is so impactful. Direction and shot composition is top-notch, the sound and music usage is genuinely revolutionary (having essentially invented the leitmotif), and while it's not the most iconic-looking film, it's still brilliant. PLEASE check this movie out if you haven't already.
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The Maltese Falcon (1941), dir. John Huston - 92%
Holy shit, I forgot I tried writing that whole review in noir-speak. Anyway, here's another classic film that I really like! Haven't seen many noir films, especially prior to this year, but this was a great one to start with. Definitely the prototypical noir detective movie, complete with Bogart's private eye, Astor's dangerous love interest, and the twists and turns that come with the genre. Beautifully shot, excellent plot and writing, wonderful music, and great acting. No complaints; check this one out.
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The Third Man (1949); dir. Carol Reed - 96%
Holy shit, this movie! Absolutely my favorite Orson Welles performance, and that very much includes Citizen Kane. He's extremely good in this movie, which is a sort of non-traditional noir in a number of ways. The cast is perfect, from Cotten to Valli to Howard to Welles (especially the last one). Plot is perfect, and contains more twists than I know what to do with. Directing is great, if a little overly-tilted at times. Production and art design is beautiful. Music is...a lot of zither music. It's...it's a LOT of zither music. As I'm typing this, the score is BACK IN MY HEAD, and I haven't seen this film in 10 months. Let that shit sink in. And yeah, watch this movie, ASAP, please. You won't regret it, I promise you that.
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Rashomon (1950); dir. Akira Kurosawa - 100%
It's a perfect movie. A trope-maker, and revolutionary film in its own right, this movie...dear shit, this fuckin' movie. No words. Nothing needed. Just trust me when I say watch this film immediately. It's stellar. Man, I hit a lot of bangers early on this year.
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The Killing (1956); dir. Stanley Kubrick - 90%
First of all, before anything else...fuck Sherry. And secondly, this movie is a great one, too. Still have more Kubrick movies to watch, but this one was absolutely worth it. Nail-biting and anxiety-inducing, yes, but also with one of the strongest plots I've seen thus far this year. A fantastic heist movie, it's only real weak points are a kinda normal production and art design, and sorta forgettable music. Other than that, it's an amazing film that people don't talk about. And, honestly, they really should. Check this one out if you're into heist movies and classic films!
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Cool Hand Luke (1967); dir. Stuart Rosenberg - 90%
First one of these I didn't post a review on! And honestly...yeah, I'm OK with that. This Paul Newman vehicle is complicated to describe. On one hand, it's an interesting character study full of interesting characters. Newman's Luke is a great example of a rebellious character forced to face consequences for his actions, only to revert to his original nature, Frog and the Scorpion style. It's technically a trope-originator in that way, or at least a major trope-definer. And with a number of interesting supporting characters, especially George Kennedy's Dragline and Struther Martin's Captain, this is a surprisingly memorable movie...in some ways.
But it also...isn't that memorable? Don't get me wrong, there are a number of moments that come to mind in my head, as well as some shots and compositions that are great (the sunglasses of the Captain come to mind immediately), but it's also not exactly Lawrence of Arabia. Rosenberg and Hall are fantastic as director and cinematographer, for sure, but not always the most memorable and iconic. Also...there's the car wash scene. Like, I get the point of that scene, but it definitely cuts through the tone in a way that puts a weird taste in my mouth. Is it an effective scene for what it's trying to do? Um...yeah. Very, very much so. Possibly TOO much, in fact. And I realize that this is a huge nitpick that shouldn't make me give points off for editing, but it speaks to a weirdly inconsistent tone in some places. That scene isn't the only example of that, is all I'm saying. Still, excellent film, check it out if you're into prison movies.
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The Italian Job (1969); dir. Peter Collinson - 92%
Holy shit, this movie is fun! I genuinely love this film so much, even if it has its flaws here and there. Other than being a movie that was absolutely made at the cusp of the 1970s, it's one of the most British heist films I've ever seen. And that's not a bad thing in the slightest, believe me. But, it may be an acquired taste for some. But that said, here are the main things to know. This is a British heist film that stars Michael Caine and features a lot of car tricks, as well as one of the most iconic film endings of all time. And that about covers it. Michael Caine is the most Michael Caine you'll ever see him, and if you ever wondered why he was cast as Austin Powers' father in Goldmember, this movie will make you understand why. Supporting cast is also very good, but everyone takes a passenger seat to the car stunts, which are some of the best care stunts I've ever seen on film. If you want Ocean's Eleven with cars, this is the movie for you. Love this one.
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The Godfather (1972); dir. F. F. Coppola - 100%
Cliché? Absolutely. The obvious choice to praise universally? For sure. The most mainstream, boring, dull, basic bitch film I could possibly like? Yeah. Yeah. BUT I DON'T GIVE A SHIT, BECAUSE IT'S FLAWLESS. Even if I didn't think this movie was essentially perfect, there isn't really anything I can say was wrong with this movie, in my inexperienced opinion. Cast and acting? Perfect. Plot and writing? Twisted and perfect. Direction? Iconic and perfect. Production design? Immersive and perfect. Music and editing? I CAN HEAR THE THEME SONG RIGHT FUCKING NOW, THIS MOVIE IS PERFECT. And you gotta understand, I put off watching this movie for YEARS because I thought it was gonna be boring. And then, I watched it. And post watching it? It's amazing. Watch. This. Movie. NOW.
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Chinatown (1974); dir. Roman Polanski - 96%
...I saw a lot of good movies this year, OK? Look, this is also an excellent film, despite its reprehensible director. Just divorce the art from the artist and all that, and go into this movie completely blind if you haven't seen it. Taking it from me, it's essentially perfect. Only issues I had were that the Production Design wasn't particularly distinctive, and the music was mostly forgettable after the fact. And those were nitpicks. Watch this movie!
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Dog Day Afternoon (1975); dir. Sidney Lumet - 90%
Did...did I watch a bad movie this year? I mean...yeah, I did. Black Adam sucked. And, like...Violent Night was...well, no, I liked Violent Night. Ooh, I was forced to watch Minions 2: The Rise of Gru, which was mediocre at best! I...OK, OK, look, you've heard this before at this point, but...watch this movie, OK? Another heist film, based on a true story this time, as well as being a benchmark in LGBTQ film representation, this film is a great one. Maybe I didn't like an acting performance, maybe the plot wasn't perfectly accurate to real life, maybe the cinematography wasn't always iconic, and maybe it could've used literally any music...but it's a great movie. Watch it.
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Taxi Driver (1976); dir. Martin Scorcese - 90%
The "good movie" train keeps chugging forward with this one, because yeah...Taxi Driver is also fantastic. Truly one of the best character dissections I've ever seen, as well as a fascinating look at one of the most dangerous and crime-ridden environments in American history, Scorcese makes a really morally complicated film with...well, frankly, troubling consequences and implications. I didn't put out a review on this one (sorry, got stuck in the wasteland that is my Drafts page), but this film was partially responsible for Reagan getting shot, fun fact. And that may be because the shooter partially identified with Travis Bickle, who is a troubled and fascinating character. And for the record, the rest of this is fantastic as well, but De Niro's Bickle and Scorcese's NYC are the most prominent and most important parts of this movie. Love this one, too. Watch this film if you like character dissections!
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Scarface (1983); dir. Brian de Palma - 90%
OK, so...is this the most stereotypical college-age dumb jock poster-in-the-dorm-room movie in the fucking world? Yeah. Yeah, it really is. But is it a great movie despite that? I mean...holy shit, yeah, it's a very good movie. Sure, Italian actor Al Pacino playing a Cuban immigrant is a weird casting choice that's aged poorly in today's sociopolitical landscape...but he's also really fucking good at it. Seriously. Over the top, absolutely, but an extremely enjoyable watch all the same. Watching him slide into depravity and chaos when he already started there is fascinating, and Pacino just EATS the movie with how hard he chews the scenery. Look...it's a fun fucking movie to watch, and that's not even talking about the iconic lines, the supporting cast, the well-structured plot and story, the iconic costumes, and every other enjoyable part of this ride of a movie. I resisted watching Scarface for a LONG time, because I associated it with college-age fuckbois, but...shit, it's a good movie. Watch it if you haven't seen it.
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OK, lemme pause here. Part Two coming next!
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akirayuri · 1 year
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Lookism || OC Bio
㋛︎ Name: Ryu Nakamura
㋛︎ Age: 15
㋛︎ Gender: biologically female/ non binory
㋛︎ Hair colour: natural white
㋛︎ Eye colour: Caribbean Blue
㋛︎ Sexuality: Bisexual
㋛︎ Nationality: Japanese
㋛︎ Pronoun: They/them, He/his, She/her
㋛︎ Department: comics and animation
㋛︎ Crew: unofficial member of HOSTEL. Later joined Daniel's allied Crew
㋛︎ Nickname / Allies : ' 白龍' which literally reads as "white dragon". They symbolises death. 'Godfather' of HOSTEL.
㋛︎ Jobs/Source Of Income: Has a YouTube channel on art, video editing and animation related content and manga and anime review. Has a side channel were she dose crime storytelling. ( No one knows she is a Youtubers, besides Eli cause they basically lived together before shifting together with the HOSTEL gang and Daniel, as a form of exchanging secrets she knows about Daniel's second body. and she will take this secret down to grave if needed. ) Does part time job time to time. Popular on Instagram as an artist and animation student. Which only increased after Mary Kim posted some of her and fashion department student's photo together as a prank.
㋛︎ Crush/lover: She was crushing on her best friend and eventually confessed to her, but some bad situation led to her best friend in coma after a failed suicide attempt [ more in the backstory ], she will develop a liking towards Zoe after some interaction. High-key has sexual tention with Mary Kim. Has a affectionate bond will Eli, had a crush on him before he confessed to Heather. But, low-key protective towards Daniel and Eli. After hearing about the stalker arc and what happened in the fight with Gun, she becomes very overprotective.
Does not have a lover.
㋛︎ Likes: dark chocolates, Manga and Anime related content, anything art and animation related, swords, Katana to be specific, her guitar, a good sleep, slacking off or just lazing around, a good smoke after work, surprisingly reading novels, leather products (like eye patch, buckle boots, gloves etc), spicy food, lemons, music ( especially 90's Indie, rock and metal ), having good fight where she can freely break skulls lol, obsession with spooky, mysterious things, thriller and mystery genre, etc
㋛︎ Dislikes: People might mistake her for a bully because of her foul language and intimidating aura but she hates bullying, "Why the fuck would I establish dominance by smacking a bunch of kids?? I would rather fight someone stronger than me." That's something among the of what she will say. Getting her bike destroyed, much less touched by someone other than herself. Distraction when she is working or studying. Overly sweet things, salty foods. Ironically, she hates sun light. People messing with something that's her, be it her friends, crush or her things. Art block, losing in a fight. Someone insulting her department and friends etc.
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㋛︎ Appearance: Ryuu Nakamura is a teen with paper pale skin, stark white mid back length straight hair and paired with Caribbean Blue eyes. If you see her for the first time, the only thing you will notice is her white hair and black leather eye patch on her right eye that almost cover half of her face.
𝐇𝐚𝐢𝐫: her hair is often tied in a messily done braids or ponytail. She sometimes she keeps her hair lose or in a half bun. Her hair always manages to stays a mess weather it's tied or lose but still is incredibly soft and silky according to Zoe. Her bangs reaches past her eyes just above her nose. Her lengthy bangs are lightly parted unorganisedly in three sections, above her left eye and right eye. Though her bangs mostly covers her right eye and eye patch, but you will catch glimpses of them time to time.
𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐨𝐧: Her white hair and pale skin almost seems to bland. Because of her eye catching hair colour and eye patch contrasting with her pale skin and hair, people tend to overlook her facial features.
𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞: She has considerably attractive features with her long straight nose and high nose bridge, pink slightly chapped lips that are not too plum nor too thin and a sharp jawline. She has strong visual appeal due to her distinct facial bone structures, high cheekbones, prominent jawline and everything.
𝐄𝐲𝐞𝐬: Her most noticeable feature is her eyes, icy shade of blue, wide, sharp and lidded, framed with long white lashes. Even her eyebrows are white.
𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐭𝐬 ( 𝑆𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑠 / 𝑀𝑜𝑙𝑒 / 𝐵𝑖𝑟𝑡ℎ𝑚𝑎𝑟𝑘 / 𝑒𝑡𝑐): She has heavy dark circles that seems to be even more prominent against her pale skin, due to lack of sleep and pulling all nighters. Her features are sharp, giving her a intimidating but unique look. She has a long, jagged scar on her left eye, this is the reason she wears eye patch. Doesn't have a 'H' despite being a unofficial member of HOSTEL because, 1, she left the group before the tattoo incident and 2, because she thinks she is not worthy of the honour because she couldn't do anything to help them when they needed it then
𝐁𝐨𝐝𝐲 𝐭𝐲𝐩𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐢𝐠𝐮𝐫𝐞: Ryuu is very tall for a woman, standing 181 inches, two inches taller then Big Daniel. She has lean and athletic but elegant build. Her shoulders are board and her hips and waist are slight, which gave her upper body a triangle shape. She has long and toned legs. Her body is littered with scars. She has a long neck and prominent collar bone. She tends to bind her cheat with binders or a long strap of clothe. Though her chest is not much noticeable even without binds, they're medium. Because of her frim and tall body and flattened chest, there are very few people that knows that she is actually 'she'. She doesn't even bothers to correct them. She doesn't mind he/him/his pronouns either. .
㋛︎ Personality: Ryuu Nakamura is a some what laid back person. Always Blanding into crowd and out of reach. Someone you will notice time to time as the weird quite kid. Dispite her tendency to by invisible, her presence can be very overwhelming if she wants. One of the many reasons why people are unable to approach her. It's quite hard to approach her because of the going rumours that she was a sadistic bully in her previous schools and tried to kill the girl she liked. And her foul mouth and intimidating aura dose not helps. If it's her who approaches you first it might seem like a bulling tactic or threat but that's when it becomes easier to talk to her. Though, in her department many students did approach her because of her drawing and storytelling skills, they all will say the same thing, "He is really easy to talk if you get to know him a little." Or "Ryuu-san is very helpful and cool". When asked about the rumours, they said, "Huh? We are more or less invisible to this school anyways. We couldn't care less about what other people says." Let's just say, she is very popular in her department. The rumours do get to her time to time and caused her many problems such as becoming an enemy of 'Burn Knuckles' and other individuals, but she stays indifferent to them. Eli once tried to confront some students about it but she stopped him saying, "Don't, it will fuel ther crap even more." Daniel activity avoided her at first. But when she asked him to become her model for, he couldn't say no. That's when they started hanging out.Though scared out of his mind, he becomes so comfortable that when he found himself tangled in any mess, calling her became the most reasonable thing to do. But most of the time Ryuu arrives uninvited, unexpected."I don't know how the hell she tracks me down....but she has killer timing. Oh! And a tendency to came with a 'BANG!', literally." Is what Daniel says. As Daniel predicted, after she started interacting more with people, the rumours died down. She ended up haveing a pretty impressive number of admirers. Often getting called out as an otaku kid. [Vin Jin lol]
She is laid back, but not quite. If you see anything crazy going on with the gang and you're expecting Ryuu to be sane one, you're mistaken a BIG time. She will probably fuel things then watch from sideline with a popcorn pack. She is more chaotic then then the group combined.
As laid back and lazy as she can be, if gets serious she can do anything. Pretty hard working on the things she likes. She won't stand and watch other students getting bullied. Warping up situations with quick and effective moves, if not in the mood to fight or the opponent is too weak. She ends the ending things quickly. But can low-key be a sadistic. Dragging the fight and destroying the opponent with ruthless abandon is her thing. The ruthless use of weapons, techniques and her own genre of martial arts; thing get way more messy and dirty then needed to be.
Safe to say that she is very observant. So much so that she was the first one to catch on Daniel's secret about the double bodies before he could even tell her about it.
She is calculative and wity. One of the many reasons that makes her such a terrific opponent and a hard person to ambush.
Surprisingly, emotional intelligence is her most valuable point. Being the first to be able to pinpoint the real reason behind Olly Wang's jealousy. But doesn't know what to do with the information. She tried to warn Eli about the double standards he was unconsciously playing and Olly Wang, but it end up back firing so hard she left the group before everything went to hell.
The "one to recognise Eli's dampen moods ( while he is not the most emotionally open person ) and Daniel's distress over the things he gets himself roped with ( Ryuu : I swear to god he has a fucking magnet for trouble and creepy ass guys who are constantly at his ass )
While she can read people, she herself is very complicated to read at. At times bottle up things and burst out in the forms a bloody mess. Tries to be peaceful.
Has an urge to dominate. It's intimate and Carmel. But something that brings her a undeniable high.
She is, tad bit unhinged. And it shows time to time. An trigger happy MF if you ask Zack Lee.
Actually, she is a soft boy. Someone who care and it shows. Go ask Eli for a change.
㋛︎ Fighting style and tactics: As said above, she is some quick to end things but will drag them more then necessary if she's in the mood. Aikido and taekwondo are her go to martial arts.
✨ L E G S ✨ she kicks hard. And won't hesitate to destroy you only via legs alone.
You see her with her Katana ( even the wooden one ), run.
Has a keen interest for various types of weapons, especially Katana since it's the first weapon of her Choice.
Her style in welding Katana is a starck difference from her actual, physical fights.
Clean, precise and elegant. Like a dragon as people call it.
But her physical fighting however, is brutal. She gets her hand on any and everything.
Learnt from Eli, use of objects are a ugly thing.
Instead of being ashamed, she basked at the shocked look on her opponents faces.
If her use of weapons are ugly then her physical fighting style with martial art are bizzare.
technicians thrown into blander, resulting in unpredictable attacks that are so fascinating it's beautiful. Her kicks especially, high, precise and killable. Something only demons can archive.
Sometimes, she fights to protect, Sometimes she fights on default, something she fights to kill.
[ still under work lmao. You guy might notice some style change and typos. The first half was written like YEARS before then the second. This will be edited cause I can't stand looking at my old writing lol ]
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inkofamethyst · 11 months
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May 15, 2023
okay.  inconsequential rant.  but.  instead of graduating with two BS degrees, I could’ve graduated with a BS in bio and a BA in anth.  all because I changed my four year plan at the last minute last sem to take stats this sem instead of another bio class.  and also because the department changed the BA requirements after I had already added the second degree.  because, like, who goes back to check the degree requirements to make such a “minor” change after already adding the degree??  originally (two years ago) the BA required a language and some other humanities classes that i didn’t have the room to take, but not anymore.  i just think it would’ve been cooler to have a BA as well, you know, to highlight my well-roundedness or whatever :(  ultimately, very very small issue.  i recognize that.  i’m just a bit annoyed is all, but it’ll pass.
In other academic news, cell bio grades went fine.  Latin honors not jeopardized.  So that’s squeaky clean.
I didn’t think I was going to cry after the concerts last night, but I was incredibly mistaken.  I sobbed for like ten minutes in some secluded part of the performing arts building (apparently not secluded enough though because some parent walked by with her kid and hugged me because she saw I was in tears) because
I don’t know if I’m ever going to do performing arts again.  If I’ll have the time, if I’ll make the cut... This has been a lifeline for me, a creative outlet, a social activity for almost as long as I’ve been alive.  Performance keeps me sane.  And I don’t wanna give it up.
Even if I can carve out some time for performing arts in the future, I highly doubt it’ll be something as cool and niche and aligned to my own personal interests as this orchestra was.
I’m going to miss these people so so much.  We’re all just passionate hobbyists.  Dedicated to making a product we can be proud of.
One of the choir directors took the time to compliment my vocal style and sincerely express his dismay at my departure.  He’s not an easy person to please, and it really touched me.  Especially since I don’t have formal vocal training which really makes me feel insecure sometimes.
I had a pretty dope solo in the fake finale, and in the first concert I missed the first note because it’s low enough in my range that, even when belting on a mic, I couldn’t hear myself over the orchestra at fortissimo to get it in tune.  No one seemed to notice, but that freaked me out.  Absolutely impacted my performance through the next several bars (missed a few planned vibratos, didn’t get full breaths in).  Then I was told that the arranger of the piece would be at the second concert, and, luckily, I hit it.  It was amazing.  After the concert, the arranger came backstage and told me that I not only killed it, but, in his opinion, sounded better than the original vocalist (I cannot tell you how many times I listened to the original recording this semester to get the feel just right, and it seems to have paid off).  That comment pushed me over the edge.
I didn’t give a senior speech because I was afraid of getting up there in front of the orch and not knowing what to say.  I probably would’ve cried then too and ruined my whole Cool Girl demeanor (but perhaps would’ve come off as a bit less aloof and a bit more human lol).  I wasn’t sure if I was going to go to the end of semester picnic, but I think I want to.  If only to hang out and say goodbye one last time.
I was supposed to go home today, but I kind of don’t want to leave.  Post-concert blues and post-concert high are mixing and it feels dreadful.  And it’s probably not just about the concert, but the whole graduation thing.  I feel like I haven’t truly exhausted the campus yet.
Today I’m thankful for the coolest thing I have ever been a part of.
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dreamspelunker · 1 year
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AI Art and the ArtStation Protest
I've been thinking about writing my thoughts on AI art for a while, so with the current ArtStation protest, I figure now is a good time to do it.
I think what people need to realize first and foremost is that major corporations (especially media empires like Disney) are not going to touch this tech in any meaningful way until the issues with copyright are resolved either in court or by lawmakers. Firstly, they're not going to want to risk a major lawsuit that might make them look really bad to the public. They can eat court costs and spin PR, but why sink that money when it's easier and safer to just wait and see? 
More importantly, though, these companies are not going to want to risk their OWN copyright being violated by competitors. 
There are undoubtedly many meetings behind closed doors about this, especially in entertainment and advertising departments. Executives are calling up their lawyers and their art department heads, and I'm guessing everyone is telling them not to touch it. The tech isn't good enough to stand on its own in terms of quality, and there are too many issues with copyright to justify its use. They also wouldn't want to be feeding their own artwork into these machines out of a very reasonable concern that it would be harvested into the AI's database and then be used in other prompts. They can not risk that.
To use AI tech in their production line in any official capacity, companies would either have to choose between using AI as it is now and risk having to deal with litigation, or front the money and time to build their own private AI server. At this point, it's much easier to just keep production as it is with human artists, because they know it works and they wouldn't have to put any money into development.
Each one of these companies is definitely watching the situation, though. They're watching what people are saying online about it, and they're watching each other to see who among them might chance it first, and if it would be worth suing over. But they're not going to get their feet wet first. They're going to let the little guys fight over it and see where the tide of public opinion is going.
In my personal opinion, I think waiting for corporations to swoop in and take this stuff to court is a waste of time. AI tech bros aren't going to go out of their way to bait a giant corporation. No, they're having too much fun stealing art from small creators on online galleries and watching them get mad about it. I genuinely think a lot of the AI crap those people post is entirely done to troll and bait. Because they're not there for the art, they're there for the drama. It's a hilarious game to them.
No, I think the only way this is going to court is if artists themselves take it to court. I've seen a lot of people say that no one can afford it, and that's entirely true. Individuals can't. 
But you know what? If a group of high-profile artists got together and started a campaign to raise the money necessary to bring a class-action lawsuit against the owners/creators of Stable Diffusion��well, that would give the issue the kick in the ass it needs.
This protest on ArtStation tells me that the initiative is there. The support is there. There just needs to be an effective team to work on it, and to find people who would be willing to be the face of the cause. 
My feeling is, it's just around the corner.
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tilda1954 · 2 years
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Assessing X Artists Books Part Two: Friends with Benefits?
In my previous post, I began a multi-stage examination of the X Artists' Books catalogue.
Artists Prison -- well, we know why this one is included. Grant wrote it in 2013, did a reading at Machine Project in either 2013 or 2014:
Possibly both? Eve Wood "was in the audience at Machine Projects when Alexandra read the first chapters of The Artists Prison as part of an evening organized by Matthew Timmons in 2014." (bio on back page of The Artists Prison). Wood does illustrations, which will later get a gallery show at Ochi Projects, and Ochi will host an The Artists’ Prison Reading and Book Signing, Saturday, June 10, 2017, at Ochi Projects. Interestingly, Wood lists this as a solo exhibition on her c.v. but does not list the book under books published.
High Winds is described as Jessica Fleishmann's "secret project." It's hard to say how "secret" it was, given that Sylvan Oswald is a trans playwright and professor in the UCLA theater department, and that he seems to have received funding from various sources for the project, according to the writer's acknowledgements including a Faculty Career Development Award from the Office of the Vice-Chancellor for Equity, Diversity and Inclusion at UCLA, and an earlier version of the material was presented at Enter>Text in Los Angeles.
Interestingly, the book copyright is held by X Artists Books, the text copyright by Oswald, and the image copyright by Fleischmann. Presumably this is due to Grant's interest in allowing the artist to keep the rights to their work.
Grant has mentioned this book enthusiastically in several subsequent discussions in recent years. She generally includes an anecdote about telling Sylvan Oswald she had a feeling the text should become an opera. Following the publication Oswald has created a performance piece based on the text, most recently performed in April of this year:
See the acknowledgements at the bottom of the Fusebox announcements for more information on where the piece has been performed, and types of support it has received.
X Artists Books was happy to be able to announce that Oswald won a Guggenheim in 2019, and included this in their press release: "we at XAB always thought there was something operatic about High Winds! So we are especially delighted that this award, in the field of Drama & Performance Art, reflects his performance adaptation of XAB's High Winds, among other projects. Congratulations, Sylvan!"
Zus - Described as Reeves' secret project, he helped finance some of the photographic shoot costs for the book. It's not artist Benoît Fougeirol's first book, and it is the most conventional art book, right down to existing in both a mass market and a high-end version. I doubt that the book really needed XAB in order to be published. It seems to have had a fully separate production and design team.
I assume that Reeves originally met Fougeirol through Olivia Fougeirol, with whom he made a short film directed by her then-husband and his business partner in Company Films, Stephen Hamel. It has had some exhibits in Europe, and may have won an award.
Perhaps the most interesting choice is the book least associated with anyone's "secret project" before the press was founded: The Words of Others.
The Words of Others
Presumably because the work would have been performed as part of Pacific Standard Time before it was published, there is little said about the piece as a text in California. But this article did appear in Miami when the piece moved to a museum there for exhibit and performance:
According to the article, "Grant became involved in the Ferrari project through Ruth Estevez Gomez, the gallery director and curator at the Roy & Edna Disney/CalArts Theater (REDCAT), in Los Angeles. According to Gomez, it took nearly four years of research to translate the epic eight-hour play that will accompany the exhibit on view at PAMM. Grant laughs when she admits that curators in Madrid, where the exhibit will show after it leaves Miami, believe the meticulously studied translation almost puts the original Spanish version to shame. But her admiration lies mainly with Ferrari's process."
An article on Estevez from 2019 confirms that The Words Of Others dedicated to the unexplored theatrical work of groundbreaking Latin American artist León Ferrari, travelled to Pérez Art Museum Miami; in its performative version to Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid; and finally to Jumex Museum in Mexico City (2018). (Ruth Estévez Named as Senior Curator-at-Large at Rose Art Museum - Artwire Press Release from ArtfixDaily.com)
Despite the Miami New Times article title above, I can find no confirmation that X Artists Book financed the performances in any way. indeed, the production program and its web page only thank the Getty for funding:
The Miami article goes on to explain that: "The multidisciplinary nature of this Ferrari retrospective fits well with the mission of X Artists Books. Grant, who works primarily as a painter, started the press with her sister Florence after collaborations with Keanu Reeves (yes, John Wick himself) led her to realize that "an artist book in particular can create a world." Alexandra, Florence, and Reeves created X Artists Books to give a home to the "orphaned" projects that don't fit neatly within gallery spaces or on the bookshelves of the Library of Congress. That Ferrari's work resisted the typical exhibition catalogue made it perfect for their press." (Miami New Times)
Grant's usual narrative on this publishing choice is that there was funding for the exhibit catalogue (I am not sure whether she's referring to the Pacific Standard Time LA/LA series itself, or the REDCAT Ferrari event specifically) but none for this book version of the text translation.
Much like the Miami New Times article above, Grant's story about rescuing this "orphaned" text seems to be an exaggeration. The credit page and title page of the X Artists Books edition of The Words of Others explicitly say that it was "published with the assistance of the Getty Foundation."
Is Grant outright lying about XAB funding for the Miami performance, or did the writer misunderstand her involvement? Hard to say, but XAB does list the piece in their rather scanty press list on their website, without correction.
I generally try to limit my posts to facts, and to provide receipts for my descriptions of Grant's projects, reviews, etc. But for this I am going to say that Grant seems to have selected these projects, with the exception of Zus, in part or on the whole because they represent different types of diversity and underrepresentation. Grant sees herself in the various artists imprisoned for their creativity in her own book, taking a feminist stance toward the art world. She's delighted to be able to showcase a trans dramaturg, and to take credit for having suggested that he set the piece to music. By publishing the Ferrari book she's managed to both feature Latin American culture and position herself, once again, in an "event adjacent" position. In this case, although she participated in the 2011 Pacific Standard Time: LA Artists 1945-1980, she was not invited to participate in the 2017 Pacific Standard Time LA/LA version -- but she has connected herself to both REDHAT and the Getty through this project. (How connected? The Getty seems to have financed at least a part, if not all, of the publication.
These first four books also point to another unusual aspect of X Artists' Books -- their tendency to pick up works that are essentially finished, low-hanging fruit as it were. This allows them to appear like a publishing house, when in fact they are more of a middleman operation moving finished projects from manuscript to printer to audience.
We'll see more of this in the next post.
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2024idpgroup14 · 2 months
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Developing the Experience 
Angelique Shelley (MA Concept Art)
Blog Post #7
Sound
As production in After Effects continued, it became clear that it would make more sense for me to add and composite together the audio. The main reason for this is that the After Effects project file, complete with image sequences from Unreal added up to over 60GB so syncing that between team members could be problematic, especially since I am remote. There was also quite a lot of sickness in the group which I was fortunate enough to avoid.
Ana selected and shared some excellent sounds throughout the project for us to use.
We also received feedback from staff on how we should avoid just sticking sounds straight on but should pay attention to blend them together carefully.
I found that Premiere Pro was far more capable in the sound department than After Effects so exported the final composition from After Effects as an mp4 with a manageable file size that could render in real time in Premiere Pro. To avoid double-compression by encoding to mp4 twice though I decided to edit the sounds over the pre-rendered mp4 and then bring in the processor-intensive after effects file directly into Premiere Pro with the dynamic link at the very end and render that instead. This ensures maximum video quality and ease of editing along the way. 
While it could be argued that our visuals may seem disconnected throughout the video I hoped that the sound could help tie it together with more cohesion. 
After adding the first sounds of rocks banging down and slate grinding and stone chips falling, I noticed that the sound effects seemed laughably ‘small’ compared to the size of the giant heads rotating into position. I found that adding a Bass effect made the sounds sound larger and a Studio Reverb with the equalizer set to custom>great hall with some extra tweaks made it more echoey in between the pillars of the first scene (see fig. 1). 
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Fig. 1 A screenshot showing the application of Studio Reverb.
The echoes unfortunately did not extend beyond the audio clip length so although echoing through the clip, ended abruptly. If this was After Effects I would assume that a precomposition of the audio layer would allow the software to echo even where there is no actual audio clip. I found that the premiere version of precompose is called ‘nest’. Indeed this worked as I intended. Duplicating a small audio file, adding it beyond the end of the composition and nesting that too allowed the final audio clip to echo as well.
The sounds now matched the scene far better. The sound links below show the originals and how small they sound in comparison.
I added the sound of wind and calm water to connect the viewer to the scene more as well.
The sound of the clock increasing in speed was a challenge as the speed ramp effect only worked on video instead of audio but I found that I could increase the speed of the whole layer linearly so just duplicated the audio layers, speeding each one up with a fade between them all.
I applied similar effects to all of the above for the wormhole and final scenes, but layering the sounds for the wormhole effect was both fun and challenging (see fig.2).
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Fig. 2 A screenshot showing some of the final layers of sound for the wormhole effect.
The music we chose had an ethereal, mysterious and slightly unsettling feel and worked well as a more ambient track that did not draw too much attention to itself and did not overpower the direct environmental sounds such as the rocks or wormhole. I feel that the overarching music helps tie everything together and make it a more harmonious experience.
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Fig. 3 Screenshot of final sound composition. 
The Final Composite
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References:
allthingssound (2018). de rottende veerboot. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/allthingssound/sounds/425183/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
carmsie (2012). PB It is time.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/carmsie/sounds/168303/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
carmsie (2012). PB Remember Remember v2.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/carmsie/sounds/168305/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
DylanTheFish (2018). Warp Speed.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/DylanTheFish/sounds/454683/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
felix.blume (2023). River bank, waterfall distant loud, lapping water, close recording, bird, subtle cicada in indigenous village Salto Hacha in Amazon rainforest. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/felix.blume/sounds/674104/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
f-r-a-g-i-l-e (2019). Buttery Breakbeat Synth, octave playthrough. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/f-r-a-g-i-l-e/sounds/500662/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
het_HCKM_DS_... (2022). Mortality Boring Death Dying clock tick tock klok tik tak incl 20 Hertz sometimes. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/het_HCKM_DS_huis/sounds/661499/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
Jovica (2008). Pad 006 - Whispering Ears - D4.flac. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Jovica/sounds/52489/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
kernschall (2018). SFX_Stone_Calcit_DeadSea_Avalacne_foot #3-178.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/kernschall/sounds/425017/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
klankbleed (2017). wind gap indoors 001 170305_1100.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/klankbeeld/sounds/383139/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
Robinhood76 (2021). 10105 big stone crush impact.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/Robinhood76/sounds/567840/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
X3nus (2020). Ardanbanapolis Interstellar Hub.flac. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/X3nus/sounds/513487/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
Zimbot (2011). Portal_Continuous_Rumble.wav. [Sound]. Freesound.org. [Online]. Available at: https://freesound.org/people/zimbot/sounds/122972/ [Accessed 12 February 2024]
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jonj22285 · 2 months
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Ensuring Workplace Safety: The Role of USA Drug Testing in DOT Drug Testing Compliance
In today's fast-paced work environments, ensuring workplace safety is paramount. Employers across various industries are obligated to maintain a drug-free workplace, especially those governed by the regulations of the Department of Transportation (DOT). DOT drug testing companies play a pivotal role in assisting businesses in meeting these compliance standards. Among them, USA Drug Testing stands out as a trusted partner dedicated to promoting safety and integrity in the workplace.
As a leader in the industry, USA Drug Testing specializes in providing comprehensive drug testing solutions tailored to meet the specific needs of DOT-regulated businesses. With stringent regulations in place, such as those outlined by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), companies must adhere to strict guidelines when it comes to employee drug and alcohol testing.
One of the primary areas of focus for DOT drug testing companies like USA Drug Testing is ensuring compliance with DOT regulations regarding the testing of safety-sensitive employees. These employees, including truck drivers, pilots, and railway workers, are subject to regular testing to mitigate the risks associated with drug and alcohol impairment while performing their duties.
USA Drug Testing offers a comprehensive range of testing services designed to meet DOT requirements, including pre-employment testing, random testing, post-accident testing, and reasonable suspicion testing. By partnering with USA Drug Testing, employers can streamline their drug testing programs and maintain compliance with DOT regulations seamlessly.
Moreover, USA Drug Testing utilizes state-of-the-art technology and adheres to the highest industry standards to ensure the accuracy and reliability of test results. Employers can trust that the testing process is conducted with precision and confidentiality, providing peace of mind knowing that their workforce is free from substance abuse-related risks.
Beyond regulatory compliance, USA Drug Testing recognizes the broader implications of maintaining a drug-free workplace. Substance abuse not only jeopardizes employee safety but also impacts productivity, morale, and overall business performance. By implementing robust drug testing programs, employers can foster a culture of accountability and responsibility while safeguarding the well-being of their workforce.
In addition to its comprehensive testing services, USA Drug Testing offers educational resources and training programs to help employers navigate the complexities of drug testing regulations effectively. From understanding the latest DOT guidelines to implementing best practices for drug testing, USA Drug Testing equips businesses with the knowledge and tools needed to promote a safe and healthy work environment.
Furthermore, USA Drug Testing understands that each industry has its unique challenges and requirements when it comes to drug testing. Whether it's the transportation sector, aviation industry, or maritime operations, USA Drug Testing collaborates closely with clients to develop tailored solutions that address their specific needs and regulatory obligations.
With a commitment to excellence and integrity, USA Drug Testing has earned a reputation as a trusted partner for DOT drug testing compliance. Employers can rely on the expertise and professionalism of USA Drug Testing to navigate the complexities of drug testing regulations with confidence.
In conclusion, ensuring workplace safety is non-negotiable, particularly in industries governed by DOT regulations. DOT drug testing companies like USA Drug Testing play a vital role in helping businesses maintain compliance and promote a drug-free work environment. By leveraging their expertise and resources, employers can prioritize safety, mitigate risks, and uphold the highest standards of integrity in the workplace.
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jcmarchi · 3 months
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Computational Scientists Generate Molecular Datasets at Extreme Scale - Technology Org
New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/computational-scientists-generate-molecular-datasets-at-extreme-scale-technology-org/
Computational Scientists Generate Molecular Datasets at Extreme Scale - Technology Org
A team of computational scientists at the Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory has generated and released datasets of unprecedented scale that provide the ultraviolet visible spectral properties of over 10 million organic molecules.
Understanding how a molecule interacts with light is essential to uncovering its electronic and optical properties, which in turn have potential photoactive applications in products such as solar cells or medical imaging systems.
The AI agent, incorporating a language model-based molecular generator and a graph neural network-based molecular property predictor, processes a set of user-provided molecules (green) and produces/suggests new molecules (red) with desired chemical/physical properties (i.e. excitation energy). Image credit: Pilsun Yoo, Jason Smith/ORNL, U.S. DOE
Using high-performance computing resources at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility, the ORNL team ran quantum chemistry calculations to generate the vast datasets. For each of these organic molecules, the team ran atomistic material modeling calculations with various approximations to compute different excited-state properties of interest. The team’s findings were published in Nature Scientific Data.
The ultimate intended use for the open-source datasets is to train a deep learning model to identify molecules with tailored optoelectronic and photoreactivity properties, an approach that is much faster and easier to conduct than current methods.
“The use of DL models for molecular design is essential because the chemical space that must be explored for the search of these molecules is extremely large,” said lead author Massimiliano Lupo Pasini, a data scientist in ORNL’s Computational Sciences and Engineering Division.
“Both experiments and existing first-principles calculations, which are based on the physical laws that determine how matter and energy interact at the subatomic level, are simply unaffordable for different reasons. Experiments are labor intensive, and first-principles calculations can easily slam supercomputing facilities. But DL models provide very promising tools to overcome these barriers,” Lupo Pasini said.
The project got off the ground when Stephan Irle, leader of ORNL’s Computational Chemistry and Nanomaterials Sciences group, identified the ultraviolet-visible spectrums of molecules as a useful property to predict with DL models. Building a DL model sufficiently complex to identify desirable molecular properties requires training it with huge volumes of data that explore all different regions of chemical space. The more data collected, the more the DL model trained on it can achieve the necessary robustness and generalizability to function effectively. However, collecting such large volumes of scientific data for scalable DL may present data-flow issues, especially at facilities with multiple users like the OLCF, a DOE Office of Science user facility located at ORNL.
“One challenge that occurs when generating large volumes of data is that the number of files to manage increases drastically. If not managed correctly, such a large volume of data can compromise the functioning of the parallel file system, which is an important component of state-of-the-art HPC facilities,” Lupo Pasini said.
To address this challenge, Lupo Pasini collaborated with ORNL computer scientist Kshitij Mehta to develop a scalable workflow software that ensures that the files generated by the quantum mechanics code are properly handled without stressing the file system, such as the OLCF’s Orion, which is a shared resource that handles the input, output and storage of data on supercomputer systems.
As a proof-of-concept test, the team generated the GDB-9-Ex dataset of 96,766 molecules composed of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen and fluorine, with at most nine nonhydrogen atoms. It showed that the designed workflow is effective and that the DL training accurately predicts the position and the intensity of the most relevant peaks of the ultraviolet-visible spectrum.
From that initial success, the team ramped up its volume with the ORNL_AISD-Ex dataset, which contains 10,502,917 molecules composed of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, fluorine and sulfur, with at most 71 nonhydrogen atoms. Pilsun Yoo, a postdoctoral research associate in Irle’s group, developed tools to analyze the resulting datasets.
The ultraviolet-visible spectrum, which describes a molecule’s excitation modes, was computed for each of the more than 10 million molecules. This information reveals what light frequency is required to target a molecule and break apart some bonds of the chemical compound.
Another property of interest computed for each molecule was the HOMO-LUMO gap — the energy gap between the highest occupied molecular orbital and the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital — which reliably measures the molecule’s stability. With this information, a DL model could efficiently sift through the data to identify promising molecules for different prospective uses.
In fact, Lupo Pasini and his team at ORNL, including computational scientist in machine learning Pei Zhang and HPC data research scientist Jong Youl Choi, are developing just such a DL model: HydraGNN.
“The HydraGNN architecture takes in the atomic structure, converts it into a graph, and then it tries to predict as an output what the first-principles code would produce. It’s a surrogate model for expensive first-principles calculations,” Lupo Pasini said.
The results from HydraGNN’s training on the datasets, and its molecular discoveries, will be detailed in a forthcoming paper.
This research is sponsored by the Artificial Intelligence Initiative as part of the Laboratory Directed Research and Development program at ORNL. An award of computer time was provided by the OLCF Director’s Discretion program.
UT-Battelle manages ORNL for DOE’s Office of Science, the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States. DOE’s Office of Science is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit energy.gov/science.
Source: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
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bhashabharatia · 3 months
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How to select the best agency offering language translation services in India?
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The year 2020 was tough for the whole world, especially for the global corporate sector. Companies that failed to become agile by expanding their operations first on a local, then on a national and finally on a global scale failed to brave the trying days of 2020 and are now absent from the corporate sector.
But is the mere expansion of operations the only step that brands need to take in a bid to secure their future?
No, that is not the case!
Veteran linguists associated with reputed agencies rendering quality-assured language translation services in India believe that brands need to use multilingual promotional content to promote their offerings especially when they are expanding into new market segments.
But why do brands need to use multilingual promotional content?
The CEO of a revered translation service provider put together quite a few pointers for the research team that worked on this post that enunciated the importance of language translation services for modern businesses.
Some of the most compelling reasons that make language translation service an indispensable tool for modern multinational enterprises are mentioned in the sections that follow.
Communication between a brand and its clients becomes enhanced
When a company is expanding its operations on a local, national or international scale, it should take measures that would allow it to communicate with both its current and prospective clients simultaneously. This is where professional translators come into the proverbial picture.
One must remember that whether one purchases products or subscribes to the services offered by a brand depends on how well promotional content created by the brand in question has been perceived, decoded and accepted by the intended viewer(s).
An agency offering language translation services also allows brands to connect seamlessly with people who do not speak the official language of the brand in question. 
The brand and its operations conform to various legal as well as foreign policies
Properly translated business documents allow a brand that recently entered into the market segment of another nation to conform with the legal as well as corporate policies of the targeted nation/region. Why is legal/foreign policy conformity important for a brand? Well, it is the only way for a company to keep lawsuits as well as penalties at bay.
How to select the best agency offering language translation services in India?
Language translation companies should only be selected when one has considered the following aspects.
It is best to hire an agency based on one’s project requirements
One must hire an agency that has a dedicated department for the type of language service one needs. In this way, the resulting linguistically altered localized promotional content will not only gel with the people of the targeted market segments. But at the same time, the original intent, tone and identity of the brand will remain intact in the linguistically altered localized content irrespective of the targeted language used.
The agency should be established in its sector
One must run a background search in a bid to learn about how long the shortlisted language service provider has been associated with the linguistic sector. Furthermore, one must also gather as much information as they can about the quality of services rendered by the shortlisted language service provider. On top of this, it is also recommended that one should hand over their project to a language translation agency that has certified, skilled and experienced native speakers of the languages that the agency covers through its services.
Bhasha Bharati Arts is the best provider of language translation services in India
If you are on the hunt for a language service provider that can offer linguistic services in all prominent African, Asian, European, Middle Eastern and American languages then be sure to contact Bhasha Bharati Arts. The agency is currently in its third decade as a language service provider with a pan-India presence. The interpreters and linguists associated with Bhasha Bharati Arts are none but the best in the sector. Furthermore, all linguists associated with the agency are native speakers of the languages that the agency targets through its document translation services and related linguistic services. The language services are available in scalable packages and the rates for services rendered are reasonable. For more details, please contact Bhasha Bharati Arts today.
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